


Ice Cold Heart

by NeverBeenACorpse



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Ben Solo Doesn't Turn to the Dark Side, Armitage Hux Being An Asshole, Character Death, Dead Dove: Do Not Eat, Emotionally Repressed, Manipulative Armitage Hux, One Shot, Other, Sexual Repression, Smuggler Ben Solo, Unresolved Feelings, this is not a happy story
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-26
Updated: 2020-08-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:27:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26121919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeverBeenACorpse/pseuds/NeverBeenACorpse
Summary: Ben Solo is never trained, and is brought up as a smuggler with loving and supporting parents. He never defects to the First Order, and he never discovers if he's Force-sensitive.In the end, he's capturedOr;Armitage Hux never figures out how to feel anything, and only works to further the First Order's agenda
Relationships: Armitage Hux/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	Ice Cold Heart

**Author's Note:**

> Heed the warnings - there is nothing good about this. Major Character Deaths, no happy ending, minor graphic depiction of head shot and wounds, and just... Dead Dove, i guess
> 
> I had a thought: What if Hux never actually manages to fall for Ben Solo in the AU where he's a smuggler. What would happen then?
> 
> As for my WIPs: My life has been shit and falling apart and now I'm about to start studying without knowing if I can manage it, so... life's pretty shit right now and I am holding together, but not particularly well. I want to finish / write more, but... yeah. It might be some time yet.  
> Until then I'm doomed to short one shots and ideas that just can't be untold.

Hux looked down at the prisoner before him.

Ben Solo, known smuggler and offspring of the infamous Han Solo, sat on the floor of his cell, bleeding and bound. His right eye was swollen shut, and his lips broken, and he was far from the beauty that was portrayed on the ‘Wanted’-poster all over both First Order and Core Worlds alike, but Hux could see the likeness. This was definitely the one and only.

Finally.

“I see you’ve been introduced to my esteemed Captain and her squadron, mr Solo.”

Ben made an attempt to spit at his feet through the bars, but his lips weren’t cooperating and all that happened was that blood-mixed saliva flowed down his chin. Hux felt his lip twitch in disgust.

“Charming. I see that you keep up your rebellious nature. I guess it is hereditary, then.”

“Fuck you.” Ben’s words where slurred and hard to hear, but Hux understood their meaning well enough.

“On the contrary; I think I will not, as you said, ‘fuck’ you. But I would like some information.”

When they’d gotten reports of a Millennium Falcon on the edge of Resistance space, doing some trading with stations on the verge of First Order space, Hux had barely given it enough of a chance that it would be that particular Millennium Falcon. Still, he’d sent out some probes, and soon enough it had been confirmed; Han Solo’s infamous vessel was doing business on the edge of First Order space. He’d become either bold or desperate, but either way, Hux felt that this was a chance that would not come twice; he’d sent out half a fleet to capture the vessel and its inhabitants alive at all costs, knowing what kind of a blow it would be to the rebels and their morale if he managed to capture it. The famous vessel that had escaped the Empire, now under First Order control; the morale of the Stormtroopers would skyrocket and that of the Resistance would plummet, he was sure of it.

Especially if they could keep the occupants as bargaining chips; whoever they where, they had had to be important enough for the Resistance that they where allowed or ordered to fly the Millennium Falcon.

The mission had lost some fighters, as was expected, but in the end, the Falcon had been captured and boarded, the occupants controlled, and Phasma herself had directed the call from the Falcon’s subpar communication devices to the Finalizer. Hux had taken the call, and he’d actually smiled when Phasma shoved a battered Ben Solo into view. Hux had been under no illusion that Han Solo would actually be onboard, even though that the hope had been there, but when he’d seen that the man’s son himself was onboard… that had been a pleasant surprise. How else to get someone to fold, then to threaten their own offspring? Outside of the First Order, offspring was valued above almost everything; not because of their skills or usage, but because of familial bonds. Because of feelings.

The First Order didn’t operate under such illusions of connection, but Hux knew the value of it, and how to use it. Ben Solo would definitely be a valuable bargaining chip, even if he didn’t disclose any information himself.

Hux looked down at the person before him, saw the blood slowly trickling from the wounds on his head, and kept a smile from his face. Ben Solo would not talk; that much was obvious. But to pressure the man would still be its own pleasure; one that Hux didn’t get to indulge in anymore. He’d gotten his hands bloody so many times in the academy, and as he rose through the ranks, but as a General, that was far beneath him.

So, all of this, was an indulgence, even if he didn’t put a finger on Ben Solo’s body.

“I could tell you what we will do to you; but I think that would spoil the surprise. Don’t you agree?” Hux said as he pulled at his gloves. The angry growl that came from the creature on the floor had him look at him, just for a moment, only to see angry eyes focused solely on him.

“Spare me your energy; you’ll need it later, when we get in contact with your father. I’m sure he’ll be beside himself that we’ve got his son, all alive and… well, alive should be good enough.”

“They’ll get you, you freak. The Resistance will get you.”

“I’m not sure that they will. Actually, I’m quite sure that they won’t. Instead, to maybe ease your own suffering, I’d like you to answer some questions; who is your mother?”

“Fuck you.”

“I’ve already been quite clear that I won’t, but if you are honest and answers my questions, maybe I’ll revisit that decision later. Because we do have some ideas as to who she might be, but Han Solo was quite known for his… virility, and I wonder, what kind of person would be important enough that he’d actually keep their child? Or are you, maybe, just another stray he picked up on the job?”

Ben didn’t say anything, and looked at Hux’s feet, as if he was planning to spit on them again. Hux scuffed at the sight.

“We’ll find that out no matter what, you know. A simple DNA-test would tell us all we want, especially if we run it past the Senate’s collection. We will find out.”

“Fuck you.”

Hux sighed. “For being a supposed child to an infamous smuggler with a supposedly golden tongue, you seem too attached to that one line. I hope the Captain and her squad didn’t damage you beyond repair?”

Ben looked up at him then, and Hux smiled. He knew his smile was hard and humourless, and in situations like this it was perfect; the masquerade of emotion rather then anything that would actually connect with the captive. He knew the value of emotional connection with prisoners, and how to make them talk, but he had interrogators for that. Himself, he preferred another approach.

“If you won’t give me your family, then maybe we’ll shift the subject. I know that the Resistance are low on basic supplies, but I didn’t know that you where desperate enough to travel into our space; are you really that low-stocked? Did you hope to barter with our allies, hoping they’d betray us for whatever you are offering?”

“I don’t work for the Resistance.”

“Oh I’m sure you don’t. No one does, when they come over this threshold; they’re all ‘independent agents’ with absolutely no knowledge of anything going on in the universe. I’d be amazed at how ignorant people can be, if I actually believed them. But you, you’re different. We know Han Solo is somewhere at the heart of the Resistance; somewhere near General Organa herself, if our intel is correct, which I assure you, it is. We just need you to give us a little detail, and maybe you’ll actually get to see them again.”

Ben seemed to laugh at the thought, but his damaged face garbled the sound. “We both know I’m already dead, so don’t tease me with promises you’ll never keep.”

Hux actually sat down on his hunches at that, to get better access to look Ben in the eyes. Try to get on his level. “You really believe that?”

Ben gave him a look that held a bit of hope, but then scuffed at him. At least he didn’t try to spit again, so, some progress.

“I’m aware that the Captain did a number on you, both before and after you came to my ship; she’s just like that, and I don’t control her actions. She’s good, but sometimes, she’s actually in the wrong. Like with the treatment of prisoners, like you.”

Ben scoffed again, and coughed at the strain on his throat. “Liar. You mindfuck these people until they’re nothing but husks to carry out your orders.”

“Is that what they tell you, out there?”

Ben gave him a look that held some doubt, but didn’t offer anything consciously.

“I’m sure that’s what you believe. Why would you doubt your parent, or the world in which you where brought up? They all say the same thing, don’t they: the evils of the First Order, and the way they turn living humans into lifeless machines to fight our indulgent wars?”

Ben tried to grimace, and Hux knew he’d hit a pressure point. “If that were the case, how would there be any commanders? Any captains, or generals, even? How could any of us be free of thought, if we were all lifeless, mindless, nothing more then canon-fodder?”

Ben looked away, and tried to shift his hands, which where firmly bound behind his back. Hux continued.

“And how would that be different then the Senate, where all the representatives dress the same, no matter their race or origin?”

“It’s not the same.”

“Isn’t it? Where everyone follows the same protocols, all day and night, and on the outside, the workers follow the same schedule and ideologies and share the same goals; to enrich themselves at the price of Outer Worlds?”

“That’s not true.”

“Isn’t it? Then why are you raiding First Order space, if your precious Resistance has the support of so many Outer Worlds? Unless they’d already been run dry by the greed of the Core…”

“Shut up! It’s not the same!”

Hux looked at the agitated man before him, who was sitting on his knees, staring at him with angry eyes, and he knew the power behind him. The muscles and knowledge of how to use them; this wasn’t some lowly peasant, who’d never been close to a war; this was someone born into it, someone who’d never been a soldier but always been a fighter, and Hux knew he’d process this sight into his long-term memory. There was something incredibly powerful about it, something intriguing, and he had a thought; something vague, something far away, something he didn’t want to acknowledge, but it was there all the same. A slight sliver of attraction, a single pulse of it through his mind, before it was unconsciously pushed away, like every alike feeling ever was. Feelings of attraction and desire wasn’t for him to feel; maybe it was for commanders, and the Stormtroopers, to boost their numbers and have more people born into the Order, but for him, who was living the whole of his life as a General of the First Order, there was nothing else. No time or need for anything else then this; then the knowledge that his power extended past the First Order space, and that his decisions would change the universe forever.

Attraction had no place in such a person, and he’d processed that a long time ago. It was nothing a single Resistance smuggler would ever hope to change.

“Maybe it isn’t. Maybe we’re different; maybe we’re even what they say we are. Doomed, and not worthy of life. Maybe that’s the case. But if so, that means you’re about to die. And the question becomes; could you live with that, the little time you have left? That you’ve lost, and that everything in your life has led you to this path, in which everything was for naught, and your death will be used as a bargaining chip to get your parent to submit to the Order. Could you live with that? That we’d win?”

Ben slumped back against the wall and didn’t look at Hux; he seemed agitated, but his damaged face couldn’t properly convey his feelings. Hux could see his forced breathing, the way his chest raised and fell, faster and faster as the panic of it all came over him, and Hux kept a smile off his lips.

“What would please you more? That you’re right, or that your fight has been for nothing?”

Hux watched as Ben became more and more unraveled before him, but was interrupted by a chime from the door. He gave Ben a last look, unhappy to be interrupted, but got up and opened the door to walk out of the little room, closing the door firmly behind him, and to be able to answer the call.

“Yes?”

“General Hux, sir, we’ve run the DNA and found a possible match” the voice came from the other side.

“Who is it?”

“Sir, it’s… It’s General Leia Organa.”

Hux felt ice flow down his spine. He knew the stories about her, and he knew that she was Force-sensitive at least, and concerning that Darth Vader himself was her father, she was probably more then able to control the Force. And to pass it on.

“Check the numbers again, against all databases. Cross-reference it with new samples from the prisoner, preferably other DNA then just blood. Break open his spine if you need it, just keep him alive.”

“Yes sir, I’ll relay the orders.”

“Dismissed.”

Hux ended the call, and thought about what this could mean. It could very well mean that this prisoner, Ben Solo, was Force-sensitive. That he had the ability to use the fabled Force, which meant that nothing could stop him, nothing, if he was well versed enough in it. Like Darth Vader had been.

Hux tried to calm himself down. He was whole and undamaged, as was Captain Phasma and her squad, and the prisoner was under control. If he was able to use the force then he’d put up a different kind of fight, and he’d not let himself be battered beyond recognition like he was. The tests could be wrong; there could be something off about them, and the cross-references would hammer out all doubt if that was the case.

But to have a Force-user onboard… that was dangerous. It was not something to take lightly; he knew the tales, and even if some of them where fake or unreal, it still meant that the Force was a thing to be reckoned with. And not something to keep in a usual cell onboard the Finalizer itself.

Another thought struck him; that if Leia indeed was his mother, and Han Solo was his father… that meant that those two somehow had a relationship. The depth of which he’d never know, but it meant that they had made, birthed and fostered a child, and that Han Solo might be an even greater bargaining chip then they could ever ask for… and that this smuggler, this Ben Solo, was somehow at the heart of the Resistance, whether he admitted to it or not.

Hux smiled, despite the risk that a Force-wielder was behind him; the blow it would be to the Resistance if this man was dead. To strike at the heart of General Leia Organa herself, the leader of the whole organisation, would be something he just couldn’t pass up.

But not to let himself get carried away. He needed to have surveillance put up on the prisoner, and inform the guard that they needed to triple the manpower around this block, and that every suspicious thing, no matter how little, should be reported and then investigated.

That was the easy part. But Hux knew he wasn’t done with the prisoner yet; he felt he needed to go back, to talk to him some more, but it would also gain them to leave him like this; to let him stew in his own misery and pain for a few hours, before they did anything else.

Hux also knew that, somewhere deep inside him, there was a personal reason to see the prisoner again. He knew it but didn’t acknowledge it, and didn’t linger about it - it was not for someone like him to want, or to desire, and he had no interest in humouring those feelings.

So he walked away, locking the double doors to the cell neatly, and informing the watch of the changes to the procedure around the prisoner. He was met with the proper conduct, and it pleased him; that his soldiers where so obedient, and so useful, but he knew he missed the mental game it had been to talk to the prisoner. Not that he could indulge himself much longer; the process of the ship demanded its General on the bridge, at all times, and the construction of the Starkiller wouldn’t continue if he wasn’t there to oversee it. Even as it was almost done, and the finishing touches and checks were being made, he still needed to handle the control of it.

The work of a General was never done.

~*~

Hux watched as the soldiers manhandled this Ben Solo down on the metal bed, restricting his arms and legs and keeping him stil. Hux was watching from a live video-feed in a closed room, precautions taken in case of if Ben Solo spontaneously decided he didn’t want to play anymore, and was going to show his Force powers on them. Loosing soldiers was regrettable, but loosing the General was inconceivable, so he’d locked himself away for the duration of this test.

The medics came forward when Solo was fully locked down and unable to move, with the weight of several soldiers on top of him as well as the metal restrictions, and began to open up his clothing. Solo was on his stomach, and was gagged, but Hux could still hear the confused and angry sounds he made through the video feed, and it brought him no pleasure. This was a fine specimen; strong, and independent, and hell of a fighter. He would have done much if he could have been turned - but they could take no such risks. Not with the offspring of General Organa herself.

The medics got to the base of his spine, and the sounds Solo made when they entered the needle were enough to make Hux’s blood curl, but he stood his ground. If there was any Force-control inside of Solo, this would be the moment it showed itself, he thought, but the sounds continued, and then the medics retracted the needle, taking their sample with them.

Hux watched, as they held the sample with firm hands, before they handed it off to the nearby droid, who went to extract the DNA. Hux saw the little thing start the process, but was soon back to looking at Solo; the prisoner he both feared and admired, in this moment. If this was all a ruse, and Solo was a kind of sleeper-agent who was waiting for the perfect moment to strike, Hux knew they could do little to stop him. He had precautions set in place, and in the worst case scenario he’d space them all, the whole room, all to keep a Force-wielder off his ship. But so far, it seemed genuine; Solo’s face was contorted in agony, and Hux could even see the glistening shine of tears in the corner of his eyes. But that could have been a trick of the video-feed; surely Organa’s son would be stronger then this?

Some commotion drew his attention, and he looked over to the side, and saw one of the medics type something into the comm, just moments before his own pad made a chime. He took it up, ad opened the message:

“ _Confirmed: General Organas’ close relative, most likely son”_

The scowl that came over his face at that was fierce and he did nothing to hide it.

“Kill him. Give the order.”

The commander next to him made a ‘yes, sir!’ and was out of there immediately; Hux didn’t even look at them, but kept his eyes on the screen, watchful for any notion of anything out of order; anything that could indicate the Force being used in any way.

But nothing happened; he saw the order being received and confirmed, and the way the medics in the room carefully lifted the syringe they’d prepared for this eventuality. Without drawing the prisoners attention to what was happening, they lowered it and Hux saw the grimace Solo made when it was inserted in the same space the first needle had gone, and the way the medics pushed the liquid into his body. Then, how Solo’s face slacked, drooped and finally, how his whole body relaxed. Or rather, deflated onto the metal bed under the weight of so many soldiers.

The medics around him waited until the first one was done, and then made to check his vitals; both manually and with machines, as Hux didn’t want to take any risks of him faking this.

The second needle was just as potent as the first; enough to kill several humans several times over, but with anything concerning the Force, you could not be careful enough. Ben Solo’s body did nothing to indicate it felt what was happening, or that it even was alive, the second time around, but it was still a necessary precaution. They could make more syringes, more poison, more soldiers; in the face of power’s like that of Darth Vader, you couldn’t be cautious enough.

Soon enough, the medic in charge looked up into the camera, Ben Solo’s dead body spread before them, and gave a thumps up.

Hux smiled.

~*~

They kept the body contained in bacta, to keep it seemingly alive. It was a great bargaining ship; Hux sent out a message with the body beside him, demanding that the Resistance’s General step up and give herself over, or else her son would die.

Not long went before a rescue mission was en large, but Hux was ready, and the First Order crushed them. It wasn’t even a fair fight; they had good pilots, and one of them even got down one of the lesser Destroyers, but in the end - they lost.

Whatever they tried, the First Order was ready; they suffered losses, of course, but in the end, there was nothing the Resistance could do, especially since they didn’t know which ship housed this Ben Solo they where so desperately looking for. They sent agents, and infiltrators, but even those didn’t manage to find anything else then the knowledge that Ben Solo supposedly lived, in stasis, on one of the ships in the fleet, and Hux smiled as he thought of their hopeless tries to get the lost son back.

In the end, General Organa herself came forward, and spoke to Hux directly. Their conversation was short, and Hux was smiling the whole time, but there was nothing Organa could offer that was enough to get her son back. Eventually, she offered herself, and to that, Hux gratefully accepted.

As they settled on the terms of the trade-off, Hux took a moment to get down to the bacta-tank, to look this body over.

It was still in pristine condition; it even looked alive, and Hux couldn’t keep his hands from touching the tank. The body was naked, and completely bared in the green liquid, and he took the whole of him in; the broad shoulders and muscular arms, his firm stomach and those legs, as well as his impressive cock. Hux lingered on it; the hairs where dark, curled around it, and even in this form it was impressive, and he closed his eyes, and tried to not imagine what it would have felt like. He tried not to think of it; this body over his own, holding him down while carrying out Hux’s orders, fucking him with dedication and pressing lingering kisses along his shoulder and neck… but that mental image was soon tossed from Hux’s mind, and he walked out, never to see the body alone again.

The next time he crossed path with the remains of Ben Solo was during the trade-off; showing it to Organa, who was alone, in a single ship, which had been flying alone. Hux was sure that she’d not told anyone she’d be going; their meetings had been secret, after all, and Hux was certain that the Resistance wouldn’t let their esteemed General give herself to the enemy like this.

As Organa came close, Hux ordered the tank to be rolled out; the status-displays covered, and for all intents and purposes, it looked like Ben Solo was fully alive. It would have fooled him, if he didn’t know the truth, and he saw the way Organa’s face changed as she saw him; probably how a mother should react, to seeing her long lost son, but she quickly kept it under wraps, and began to walk closer.

When she was close enough, Hux indicated that she should take a closer look, and with a deadly stare at him, Organa turned towards the tank. Hux placed himself behind her, and didn’t see her face as she pulled the draping off the status-console, but he saw the way her body reacted; he saw the display, which was firmly in the red, displaying that the inhabitant was dead, with no vital signs, and he saw how her body slumped forward against the tank. How she held herself up by her hands, holding the tank as if she could reach her son through it, and the wail that came over her when the reality set in.

She tried to turn, but Hux had his blaster ready, and his aim was true; her head exploded, and the sound of the shot echoed in the closed space. Her body slumped, fell down, and Hux holstered his blaster again, looking down at her headless body without loosing his posture.

He looked down, and saw a bit of gore splattered on his boots. He didn’t hinder the disgusted scowl from twisting his lips, before he turned to the nearby soldiers.

“Get this cleaned up, and conserve the body.” No one except the General knew that Ben Solo was dead; and now, she was dead with him. His body would still be valuable, as long as Han Solo was out there; as long as the bonds of family could tempt the Resistance into idiotic acts like these.

Deep inside him, something else stirred; some deep down feeling that he could not adress, a thought he couldn’t think, and instead he focused on the soldiers in front of him, the way they were obedient and oblivious to any conflict of interest. The easy life of the brainwashed; to follow order, and reproduce, and maybe even enjoy some feelings now and then. Some connection with other soldiers; some kind of relationship, even. Nothing that Hux could ever imagine for himself, and nothing that would ever influence his decision to keep a dead body preserved. He was a great tactician, and his mind for strategy was sometimes ahead of even himself. He didn’t think any other thoughts, as he cast a last look on Ben Solo’s body, being carted away down into the bowels of the ship.

Without a second glance, Hux walked out of there, because no matter the value of a seemingly alive body, the work of a General was never done.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr:  
> [Main](https://insanitysqueen.tumblr.com)  
> [Writing](http://neverbeenacorpse.tumblr.com)  
> Send me kinky prompts or talk smut with me ;*


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